Desert Formations - Monument Valley, Navajo Nation

One of my favorite places in the US is Monument Valley. It is located on the border of Arizona and Utah and is part of the Navajo Nation. Almost all of you have seen Monument Valley, even though you may never have set foot there. The valley has appeared in countless movies, commercials, music videos and print media. It is the quintessential location that screams the US west. Monument Valley has quite a number of sandstone rock formations, whose orange color seems to perfectly contrast with the blue sky. Many of the bigger formations have special names that either depict what the formations look like or represent a spiritual meaning to the Navajo people.

The formation above (the three spires) are known as the “Three Sisters”. The spire on the left is 600 feet high; the spire in the middle is 325 feet and the spire on the right is 575 feet. The Three Sisters are also known as also known as Faith, Hope and Charity. Made from sandstone, the figures were caused by erosion and are likely were part of Mitchell Mesa pictured to their right.